It is easy to commute on a scooter

I was telling a friend about my scooter and she said she was jealous. She'd love a scooter, but then she said she didn't think it was practical for her to have one since she commuted such a long distance to work.

I didn't understand that.

She claimed that because she used major, congested highways, it was too dangerous, and would be "hard" because of the distance.

I thought about it and don't think that's true. Of course she lacked any experience, but I don't. I've ridden long distances (at least the hour that she was talking about) on the back of a motorcycle on highways, and I'd have to say that it's only a little more tiring than driving a car. But it also is more likely to keep you aware on the road.

It is more dangerous riding on a scooter or motorcycle not because of what you are doing, but because other people are not paying as much attention in their cars. So you have to pay more attention.

Of course if you are like the majority of commuters, you probably aren't really paying attention as you commute because you always travel the same road and have become complacent (or are half asleep because you felt you had to watch that "American Idol" rerun).

The only detriment I see is if you have to carry a great deal with you to work, like some of my friends who are teachers.

But if all you need can fit in your scooter bucket, a scooter is perfect. You can actually fit a lot into the boot of a scooter. And you can scoot around other cars sitting needlessly in traffic.

I'd recommend being careful about doing this since drivers aren't going to notice you with their peripheral vision as they would a large vehicle, but there's not point sitting in traffic adding to the congestion when you could get around everyone and be one less vehicle on the road keeping things stalled. It's really handy. And can save you time commuting to work.

She was worried about getting into an accident. And that is highly likely no matter what time of day simply because of complacent drivers. But you can also get into a deadly accident in your car. In fact, I thought back on all the accidents that I'd heard about on her commute route and realized that all the people who died were in cars, so I don't know if it would make a difference what you were driving if you get hit on that route. You might as well try saving money since the odds don't seem to be good anyway.

But I also thought about the fact that she was taking a major road when there are plenty of options for her to take going in the same direction. While major roads can be faster, if you're on a scooter you want to enjoy the ride, so why not take alternate routes with less traffic and enjoy the fact that you are outside having fun on your scooter?

It seems the only thing stopping her are her fears and a lack of knowledge.

If everyone commuted in a scooter or a smaller vehicle, we'd be a lot better off.

Below are some tips on how to commute on a scooter.